Maverick Davis Defies Convention, Again

Stanford Routt received a new contract for $31 million over three years with about $10 per year over the first two years. Richard Seymour will be paid in the $12-15 million per year range for the next two years. Kamerion Wimbley will receive a one-year franchise tender around $10 million.

Throw in $8 million to John Henderson and a ham sandwich for Rock Cartwright and you have about $80 million worth of spending on players.

$80 million is a lot of money in a normal NFL off season, but it is even more considering the uncertainty surrounding the CBA.

There are still free agents to be signed too. Nnamdi Asomugha, Michael Bush, Zach Miller, Michael Huff and Robert Gallery are all potentials.

While the Routt contract would seemingly indicate the end of the Nnamdi Asomugha era, don’t be surprised if Al Davis continues to open his wallet for his players, including Asomugha.

Signing players before a new CBA is signed is risky business. The market for players could completely change under terms of the new CBA.

If the labor terms change and the owners get a bigger slice of the revenue pie, the Raiders would have several contracts on the books that were detrimental moving forward. The contracts run for two or three years instead of four to six for this reason.

If however the NFLPA negotiates for a bigger slice of the revenue pie, the contracts Davis has handed out could seem like bargains.

If the NFL adopts an 18-game schedule, the contacts signed prior may be spread out over an additional two games. Two additional games would increase the season length by 12.5%.

Provided the owners were able to realize the extra games as revenue increases, the players are going to ask for some of that revenue to be as part of the cap figure.

While other teams will be forced to renegotiate under the new terms for players, the Raiders have grandfathered these contracts under the prior rules. If the contracts are structured to avoid likely new proration rules under a new CBA, the deals are could be financially sound.